Spinning station

On 10 October, ESA’s deep-space radio dish in Cebreros, Spain, transmitted an 866 sec interstellar message towards the North Star as part of the international “A Simple Response” project.

This 30 sec exposure was taken just as the 35 m-diameter dish completed rotating from pointing at the the North Star back to the vertical parked position.

This week and next, the Cebreros antenna will play a crucial role in the arrival of ESA’s ExoMars orbiter and lander at the Red Planet, set for 19 October. It will communicate with both the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the older Mars Express.